Bath

Prediction 7th Head coach Gary Gold Last season 7th

Still waiting for the great leap forward. Anthony Watson and Kyle Eastmond are hugely promising runners and the re-signing of the Springbok back-row Francois Louw was a major plus but they must improve substantially on last season's mixed bag. A coaching reshuffle has ensued, with Mike Ford now head coach beneath Gary Gold. The good news is their traditional striped jerseys are back.

Exeter

Prediction 4th Rugby director Rob Baxter Last season 6th

They will miss the now-retired Richie Baxter but his brother Rob is nobody's fool. The big Chief has beefed up his forward resources with the South African Don Armand and the Kiwi Romana Graham and two strong-running wingers in Tom James and Fetu'u Vainikolo. Their opening fixture at Franklin's Gardens is a tough one but expect them to start strongly if the pitches stay hard.

Gloucester

Prediction 6th Rugby director Nigel Davies Last season 5th

Should be strong top four candidates but there is a slight doubt about their forward platform following the departure of big Jim Hamilton to France. On the flip side they have a potentially scintillating backline, with Freddie Burns and Billy Twelvetrees gunning for England starting places. Openside flanker Matt Kvesic is also on Stuart Lancaster's radar.

Harlequins

Falling short in Europe and in the play-offs last season will undoubtedly spur Quins on. This time, though, their pack must cope without the departed James Johnston and the retired Ollie Kohn so their platoon of talented youngsters will be challenged to fulfil their obvious potential. Luke Wallace is already right on the tail of Chris Robshaw and England U20 No8 Jack Clifford is another to watch. They will play attractive rugby whatever happens.

Leicester

Prediction 3rd Rugby director Richard Cockerill Last season Champions

People sometimes underestimate Leicester's ability to conquer all-comers despite myriad Test calls and injuries to supposedly key individuals. In the aftermath of the Lions tour that resilience will be tested to the limit, particularly with the coaching brains of Matt O'Connor now resident in Dublin. They will be strong, as always, but retaining their title will require a supreme effort.

London Irish

Prediction 9th Rugby director Brian Smith Last season 9th

Brian Smith has lost a lot of talented players and the jury remains out on the quality of their replacements. Their younger players began to prosper last season though and Pat Phibbs will be an influential figure at scrum-half. If they can supply their England winger Marland Yarde with enough ball they will definitely score tries.

London Wasps

Prediction 8th Rugby director David Young Last season 8th

A hard side to assess, with a raft of new signings and one or two big departures. Billy Vunipola and Marco Wentzel were key men and newcomers such as Matt Mullan and Kearnan Myall will need to make an early impact. Andy Goode will kick plenty of goals but this looks likely to be a season of consolidation rather than trophy bagging.

Newcastle

Promoted teams frequently do better than expected. Until off-field issues and points deductions scuppered them, London Welsh did pretty well last year and the Falcons will make teams battle at Kingston Park. Franck Montanella and Kieran Brookes are good enough props to hold their own in any company and Dom Barrow and Andy Saull will ensure a competitive back-row.

Northampton

Sometimes it is not what new signings do themselves as the effect they have on those around them. The arrival of George North, Alex Corbisiero and Kahn Fotuali'i has already raised morale among Saints supporters and there is a steelier look to the back-up troops as well, but they will miss Soane Tonga'uiha and Brian Mujati. However, Tom Wood and Dylan Hartley will not tolerate shirkers.

Sale

Prediction 12th Rugby director Steve Diamond Last season 10th

Some of us thought the Sharks would come good last season. As it turned out, they were fortunate London Welsh fell away and only spluttered into life late on, losing just four of their last 11 league games. Steve Diamond is still talking a good game and Dan Braid is among the Premiership's better back-rowers but a run of injuries could make it another grim campaign.

Saracens

Their defence is excellent, their goal-kicker deadly and the 'wolf-pack' is hungry for trophies. The club have also signed two hulking young forwards, James Johnston and Billy Vunipola, with a bit of X-factor about them. Add the likes of Marcelo Bosch from Biarritz to their established cast-list and Sarries look genuine front-runners. A Saracens v Northampton grand final would not be a surprise.

Worcester

Prediction 11th Rugby director Dean Ryan Last season 11th

A character-testing winter awaits. The influential Paul Warwick is out for the first six weeks and Argentinian duo Agustín Creevy and Leonardo Senatore will not arrive until after the Four Nations. Dean Ryan isn't promising miracles and lifting the Warriors up the table is clearly a long-term project. Will need to stand firm at home or relegation could loom.